WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.879 Well, I've got a bit of nostalgia for us this morning. 00:00:05.600 --> 00:00:09.460 If you're under 30, you might not know what I'm talking about. 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:15.300 But who remembers the wonderful game show, Stars in Their Eyes? 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:18.940 And who remembers what the catchphrase was? 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:19.920 Anybody? 00:00:21.160 --> 00:00:21.900 That's it. 00:00:21.940 --> 00:00:23.719 Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be. 00:00:23.879 --> 00:00:24.379 That's right. 00:00:25.100 --> 00:00:26.640 And it was classic television. 00:00:27.219 --> 00:00:28.699 We all tuned in for it. 00:00:28.699 --> 00:00:31.579 So I have to tell you something here. 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:34.679 I never copped on that it was not a live program. 00:00:35.219 --> 00:00:36.619 It never worked out. 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:38.420 They disappeared and came back. 00:00:38.579 --> 00:00:39.640 How on earth did that happen? 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:42.759 So anyway, there was a massive transformation there. 00:00:43.780 --> 00:00:47.140 A singing show that they all took part in. 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:50.759 And then I think they used to have sort of whoever got through at the end 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:54.039 went through to like a special final at Christmas time. 00:00:54.500 --> 00:00:57.179 So there is a link to this talk, okay? 00:00:57.179 --> 00:00:58.200 Just so that we'll see. 00:00:58.700 --> 00:01:03.480 So our topic this morning is, in Christ, I'm a new creation. 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:07.520 And we're thinking about Stars in Their Eyes. 00:01:07.600 --> 00:01:13.680 And I think that sometimes, as Christians, we can think that the Christian faith is a bit like Stars in Their Eyes. 00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:20.920 We can think that when we become a Christian, we end up acting and looking a bit different. 00:01:21.380 --> 00:01:25.160 But deep down, we're still that same person that we were before. 00:01:25.159 --> 00:01:33.780 But I want to put a different view across this morning and to say that actually, when we are Christians, when we become Christians, 00:01:34.259 --> 00:01:36.340 we actually knew creations. 00:01:36.340 --> 00:01:39.260 So I've got two simple points this morning. 00:01:39.260 --> 00:01:41.500 The before and the after. 00:01:41.500 --> 00:01:43.939 So let's just pray before I start. 00:01:43.939 --> 00:01:49.420 Lord, we thank you so much for what you've been doing in and through our lives. 00:01:50.219 --> 00:01:54.579 And I thank you so much for when we see transformation in people's lives around us. 00:01:55.539 --> 00:02:00.879 Please speak to our hearts this morning so we'd hear from your word and it would challenge us. 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:06.060 And it would help us to grasp what it really means to be a new creation. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:08.799 Amen. 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:16.759 So if we continue on with the analogy of Stars in Their Eyes, let's think a moment about the before. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:22.039 The before the time when the person goes into the big silvery doors. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:26.579 The passage that we've just heard says, the old life is gone. 00:02:27.359 --> 00:02:29.079 But what is the old life? 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:35.600 What is so bad about the natural human condition that we need to be reborn? 00:02:36.860 --> 00:02:40.640 If you're here and you're a Christian already, let's make this personal. 00:02:40.840 --> 00:02:42.800 Not to share with anybody else, but think. 00:02:43.600 --> 00:02:53.360 What did God reveal to you about yourself and about that of your life that you needed to throw out the old life and choose a new life with God? 00:02:53.939 --> 00:02:54.500 What was it? 00:02:55.960 --> 00:02:58.520 And what is it really about the human condition? 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:01.780 It's not that we're all doing terrible things beforehand. 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:08.900 But the fact is that generally speaking, as people, we live naturally to please ourselves. 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:12.420 We have a huge focus on the I. 00:03:13.820 --> 00:03:15.080 What I can do. 00:03:15.880 --> 00:03:18.439 If I work hard, I'm going to achieve this. 00:03:18.860 --> 00:03:21.320 If I study hard, I will achieve this. 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:24.519 If I save upon my money, I can buy this. 00:03:25.019 --> 00:03:29.599 And we spend our time trying to be successful as we can. 00:03:30.299 --> 00:03:34.479 To maybe become as important or as liked or as rich as we can. 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:37.379 And that's what generally happens in the world. 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:42.739 But what happens when you make it, when you reach that ultimate success? 00:03:43.979 --> 00:03:46.439 Well, in my experience, we want more. 00:03:47.239 --> 00:03:48.139 We're never satisfied. 00:03:48.819 --> 00:03:54.139 And we keep looking for the next thing that's going to make life worth living, no matter what the cost. 00:03:54.139 --> 00:04:01.379 A quote from Jim Carrey, one of my favourite comedy actors from Liar, Liar and Bruce Almighty. 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:02.679 And he says, 00:04:02.779 --> 00:04:10.079 I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they dreamed of so they will know that it's not the answer. 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:15.219 So all this striving, it leads us nowhere. 00:04:16.220 --> 00:04:23.040 And if as people, all we do is strive to be successful or get as much as we can or to be perfectly loved by another person, 00:04:23.639 --> 00:04:28.040 I think we're going to eventually realise that those things can't or won't deliver. 00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:32.420 Chasing after them is actually exhausting. 00:04:33.080 --> 00:04:35.220 And it sucks away joy and happiness. 00:04:35.960 --> 00:04:38.340 And we feel that there's much more to life. 00:04:38.339 --> 00:04:43.479 And we realise that something or someone is missing. 00:04:44.299 --> 00:04:46.519 That, I would suggest, is God. 00:04:46.719 --> 00:04:49.299 We've got a God-shaped hole inside of us. 00:04:50.060 --> 00:04:54.339 Because if you're going to only live for yourself, you're going to end up really disappointed. 00:04:55.479 --> 00:04:59.219 So I think the passage that Marilyn read is saying something else to us. 00:05:00.239 --> 00:05:04.799 It's saying that when we accept Jesus, when we are born again, we're alive to God. 00:05:05.419 --> 00:05:07.539 We're no longer living to please ourselves. 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:10.540 Our life takes on a whole new meaning. 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:15.379 And our life is no longer about pleasing us, but about pleasing Christ. 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:24.160 And he is the only one, actually, that can bring us real value, security, purpose, and a love that changes everything. 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:31.060 I'm sure all of you here know and feel the pressure to perform. 00:05:31.420 --> 00:05:32.480 It's all around us. 00:05:32.520 --> 00:05:34.000 It's thrown at us every day. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:42.279 For the older members of us, maybe we want to put our lives on social media, on Facebook. 00:05:42.920 --> 00:05:47.139 For younger people, they want to portray that they're having a most successful life. 00:05:47.259 --> 00:05:48.579 They're in a great job. 00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:49.819 They've got a great relationship. 00:05:50.139 --> 00:05:50.819 Great holidays. 00:05:50.819 --> 00:05:55.019 And actually, to validate themselves, they need to see how many likes they've got. 00:05:55.019 --> 00:05:58.579 But life without Christ is a constant battle. 00:05:59.359 --> 00:06:02.919 And this is something that I found in my own life when I was younger. 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:08.640 You know, often all we want to do is finish school and college, then maybe go to uni. 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:11.420 Then when we've achieved that, get a job. 00:06:11.879 --> 00:06:13.100 Then we want to get a car. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:14.900 Then we want to get a better car. 00:06:15.420 --> 00:06:16.540 And then we want to buy a house. 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:18.259 Then we want to buy a bigger house. 00:06:18.259 --> 00:06:22.259 We can always think and be striving to the next thing. 00:06:23.779 --> 00:06:28.620 But you know, I found that whatever we get, the likelihood is that we're not going to be satisfied. 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:35.500 Because I've said before, if we're just focusing on ourselves, we'll always have this pressure to perform. 00:06:36.420 --> 00:06:41.959 But if our focus is on God and pleasing Him, then that pressure is relieved. 00:06:42.959 --> 00:06:46.279 And He's going to satisfy us completely and eternally. 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:53.399 And if you're sitting here this morning and you're not a Christian, and you're wondering who this Jesus is that I'm going on about, 00:06:54.259 --> 00:06:57.659 well, Jesus is a treasure that He wants you to find. 00:06:59.899 --> 00:07:03.099 In the Bible, I love the character Peter. 00:07:04.179 --> 00:07:06.079 There's lots of stuff about him in the Bible. 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:08.319 And he was one of Jesus' best friends. 00:07:08.899 --> 00:07:14.039 And I can really relate to Peter well, because he messes up on lots of occasions, as I do. 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:17.180 Sometimes he says really stupid stuff. 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:20.620 And sometimes he does completely ridiculous things. 00:07:21.760 --> 00:07:25.560 But Jesus calls Peter and invited him into an amazing adventure. 00:07:26.660 --> 00:07:27.860 Why did he do that? 00:07:28.700 --> 00:07:33.379 He did that because Peter chose to live his life for Christ and not for himself. 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:39.460 Peter was called on that amazing adventure because he was living for Christ. 00:07:39.459 --> 00:07:42.599 And when we do that, it changes everything. 00:07:43.259 --> 00:07:45.919 Because God is always a God of second chances. 00:07:46.560 --> 00:07:50.159 And He deliberately chooses the most unlikeliest of people. 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:55.779 So if you're here this morning and you feel a bit sick and tired of striving for something, 00:07:56.259 --> 00:08:00.359 always trying to achieve something, and maybe feeling like you're messing up again and again, 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:02.879 I want to offer you a different way of life. 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:05.159 Choose to live for someone else. 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:07.139 Choose to live for Jesus. 00:08:07.139 --> 00:08:11.019 So this is a really simple message this morning. 00:08:11.339 --> 00:08:14.500 But I think this is the basic and the essence of the Christian faith. 00:08:15.300 --> 00:08:20.639 Before we have Jesus, we've got striving towards an unachievable goal that we're never going to get there, 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:21.919 focusing on ourselves. 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.259 But with Jesus, we get offered something completely different. 00:08:27.560 --> 00:08:29.659 In Galatians 5, verse 1, it says, 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:41.600 In other words, enjoy freedom. 00:08:43.060 --> 00:08:49.860 Before we move on to look at the after, I just want to go back once more to the stars in their eyes analogy for a second time. 00:08:49.860 --> 00:08:53.960 Because as I said earlier, people look at the Christian faith, 00:08:54.740 --> 00:08:57.060 where you have a little bit of a transformation, 00:08:57.659 --> 00:09:02.340 but deep down, you're still the same person that you were before. 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:04.879 But the Bible doesn't say that. 00:09:05.560 --> 00:09:08.159 Yes, we're still going to make mistakes because we're all human. 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:13.259 But it says when you become a Christian, when you are in Christ, you are a new creation, 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:18.559 a totally new life, a totally new you, with a new identity. 00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:21.480 Because you have had an encounter with Jesus, 00:09:22.139 --> 00:09:26.120 and you've been reborn into a new family, the family of God, 00:09:26.179 --> 00:09:28.439 and you are precious to him. 00:09:28.659 --> 00:09:30.199 You're his son or his daughter. 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:32.220 So that's before. 00:09:32.920 --> 00:09:35.940 So let's look at the after. 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:36.460 Sorry. 00:09:41.920 --> 00:09:44.840 So the glorious news that we need to remember about the after 00:09:44.840 --> 00:09:49.379 is that we can confidently say that when we are in Christ, 00:09:49.540 --> 00:09:52.060 we are new creations joined in Christ. 00:09:53.580 --> 00:09:55.960 Another passage, Colossians 31 says, 00:09:55.960 --> 00:10:00.480 Set your heart on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:04.540 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 00:10:05.460 --> 00:10:08.660 That line, your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 00:10:09.900 --> 00:10:13.800 What he's saying here is when God looks upon you as a believer, 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:16.800 as one that trusts in Jesus and follows Jesus, 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:21.920 he sees you in all of the righteousness and purity and beauty of Jesus. 00:10:22.500 --> 00:10:25.060 Not because of who you are or what you've done, 00:10:25.059 --> 00:10:28.299 but because of what he's done. 00:10:30.039 --> 00:10:32.579 And as we love and start to follow Jesus, 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:35.500 we gradually begin to look and act more like him. 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:40.019 And that's why the early church started calling each other Christians. 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:44.599 It started as a bit of a mickey-take, a derogatory word for them, 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:48.179 used by others, but it stuck because it was true. 00:10:49.119 --> 00:10:51.459 And as Christians, we literally reflect Jesus. 00:10:51.959 --> 00:10:54.719 As new creations, we become more like Christ. 00:10:55.979 --> 00:10:59.339 One more example from the Bible is Romans 6, verses 5, 00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:00.559 where it says, 00:11:00.659 --> 00:11:04.500 For we have been united with him, Jesus in a death like this. 00:11:04.859 --> 00:11:08.819 We will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like this. 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:11.019 So we are united with him. 00:11:11.019 --> 00:11:14.819 And the word united is taken from a gardening term, apparently, 00:11:15.539 --> 00:11:18.220 which means engrafted at the root. 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:21.059 Now, I am a terrible gardener. 00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:24.419 We have a few plants and herbs in our garden that Jeff takes care of. 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:27.740 But what I do know is that roots are really important. 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:32.360 The root of the plant is where the plant gets its food from and its life from. 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:37.180 And that is what righteousness is about, being joined in Christ. 00:11:37.179 --> 00:11:44.419 Another thing to remember about this after transformation is that when we are made righteous, 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:47.819 we are joined in Christ to become part of him. 00:11:48.359 --> 00:11:52.500 It's not because of anything that we've done, but because of what God's done. 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:57.480 Our salvation and our security are the result of God taking the initiative. 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:00.720 He, not us, makes us righteous. 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:04.399 This is a result of Jesus' sacrifice for us. 00:12:04.919 --> 00:12:08.139 And it all comes from God because he made a new creation. 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:13.879 We no longer have to be defined by our old life because we've been defined by Jesus. 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:23.019 The determining factor in your relationship with God is no longer your past, but it's Christ's past. 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:30.659 Unfortunately, often one of the barriers people have to accepting Jesus is not feeling good enough, 00:12:31.259 --> 00:12:33.559 not feeling deserving of this amazing gift. 00:12:34.580 --> 00:12:38.259 I know that because I felt the same thing before I was a Christian. 00:12:38.259 --> 00:12:45.580 I thought, how could someone like me, that was so mixed up, angry, confused, and bad-tempered, quite frankly, 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:48.120 could be good enough to be loved by God? 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:52.620 And if you're feeling like that this morning, you need to hear this. 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:56.340 The Father loves you and accepts you and delights in you. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:03.759 He sees you as having all the beauty and the greatness and glory of a son, Jesus, when you are in Christ. 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:08.120 So will you start seeing yourself in that same light? 00:13:08.980 --> 00:13:10.500 Will you start feeling condemned? 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:13.460 Because that's not you anymore. 00:13:14.179 --> 00:13:15.700 That's not how God sees you. 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:19.319 When you're in Christ, he sees Jesus in you. 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:22.620 You don't need to worry about not feeling good enough 00:13:22.620 --> 00:13:26.319 or feel like you haven't done enough to earn this free gift 00:13:26.319 --> 00:13:29.379 because God doesn't expect that from you. 00:13:30.340 --> 00:13:32.759 Andrew Wilson, a Christian author, says, 00:13:32.759 --> 00:14:02.759 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:09.019 Because of Christ, you just need to choose to turn away from your old life 00:14:09.019 --> 00:14:13.720 and enjoy this new free gift and walk into this new life. 00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:20.420 As I end, I've got a quick analogy to explain what this might look like. 00:14:21.180 --> 00:14:23.360 So I'm going to paraphrase, probably quite badly, 00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:26.660 from the book of Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, 00:14:27.160 --> 00:14:30.100 the famous author who also wrote all the Narnia books. 00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:34.360 And he talks about the change that God makes in our lives 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:37.680 as being a house that's been renovated. 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:40.739 Maybe you've seen the house across the road. 00:14:40.819 --> 00:14:44.799 I came here in 2020 when a young couple had bought a house over there 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:47.319 that I think was beautiful but it was dilapidated. 00:14:47.819 --> 00:14:50.459 And I found it really interesting every week to walk by 00:14:50.459 --> 00:14:51.239 and have a look and think, 00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:52.120 Ooh, what are they doing now? 00:14:52.359 --> 00:14:55.239 And gradually it's getting to be a beautiful house. 00:14:55.240 --> 00:15:00.220 So imagine yourself as a tiny and dilapidated house 00:15:00.220 --> 00:15:02.240 with damp, rotten windows, 00:15:02.980 --> 00:15:06.480 wallpaper peeling off the walls and no central heating. 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:11.060 A bit like those houses that we see on another fantastic program, 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:12.240 Homes Under the Hammer. 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:14.159 Before, obviously. 00:15:15.060 --> 00:15:17.419 And God decides that he's going to move in 00:15:17.419 --> 00:15:19.500 and make some renovations to your house. 00:15:20.299 --> 00:15:22.720 So he starts, first of all, to make some small changes. 00:15:22.720 --> 00:15:26.700 He starts lifting up the carpet, taking a bit of wallpaper off 00:15:26.700 --> 00:15:29.320 and then he starts to make some bigger changes. 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:31.660 He starts knocking the walls down, 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:35.040 adding some extra rooms and some floors. 00:15:35.800 --> 00:15:38.840 And then you start to realise what God is doing. 00:15:39.779 --> 00:15:40.600 Because you know what? 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:42.820 He's not remaking your own little house 00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:46.840 but he's making a palace that's fit for a king. 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:50.379 He's creating a home for him to live in. 00:15:50.379 --> 00:15:53.879 And that is what it's like when we are in Christ. 00:15:54.379 --> 00:15:56.059 When we become new creations, 00:15:56.879 --> 00:15:59.539 God does more than we can ever ask or imagine. 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:01.740 And that is the beauty of the Gospel. 00:16:01.980 --> 00:16:06.419 He wants your life to declare the glory and majesty of his life. 00:16:07.620 --> 00:16:10.939 So today, you might have come here for the first time with a friend 00:16:10.939 --> 00:16:12.899 or to see what church is all about. 00:16:13.460 --> 00:16:15.179 Or you might have been coming for a few weeks 00:16:15.179 --> 00:16:17.399 and you want to know more about the Christian faith. 00:16:17.399 --> 00:16:20.139 You might already be a Christian here 00:16:20.139 --> 00:16:20.939 and you might just think, 00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:23.220 actually I want to go deeper in my discipleship. 00:16:24.120 --> 00:16:24.899 So if that's you, 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:28.079 I want to challenge you and encourage you to explore God 00:16:28.079 --> 00:16:31.899 and see what God can do to make a change in your life. 00:16:32.340 --> 00:16:35.199 To be expectant and have huge expectations 00:16:35.199 --> 00:16:37.439 about what God can do in your life. 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:39.240 So here at Christ Church, 00:16:39.319 --> 00:16:41.079 we run two things that help with that. 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:44.460 The first thing is a course called Any Questions, 00:16:44.860 --> 00:16:46.300 which is coming up in June. 00:16:46.740 --> 00:16:49.160 And we have some little flyers at the back about that 00:16:49.160 --> 00:16:49.980 called Got Questions. 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:52.920 And also, I'm always going on about this, 00:16:53.020 --> 00:16:53.879 the Alpha course, 00:16:54.200 --> 00:16:55.639 which will be starting in September. 00:16:56.960 --> 00:16:59.520 And that's a really good place to connect with God, 00:16:59.780 --> 00:17:01.580 deepen our faith and connect with other people. 00:17:02.920 --> 00:17:05.559 So if you've been challenged this morning to know God more, 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:08.279 I'd encourage both of you to come along to these. 00:17:08.279 --> 00:17:11.759 So please speak to me or Clive or anybody on the host team later. 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:16.119 So finally, let's just pray as I finish. 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:21.859 Lord, we all come here today with different things going on 00:17:21.859 --> 00:17:25.779 and different experiences with stuff from our past. 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:29.759 And some of us may be feeling a bit broken and bruised. 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.759 But Lord, we want you to come in and transform our lives. 00:17:35.759 --> 00:17:39.200 So maybe just now in the quiet, 00:17:40.379 --> 00:17:44.420 think through what do you need Jesus to work in you 00:17:44.420 --> 00:17:45.500 and through you today 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:49.099 so that you might be living as a new creation in Christ. 00:17:50.119 --> 00:17:52.119 So just speak to him now in the silence. 00:17:52.119 --> 00:18:06.059 And let's remember these words. 00:18:07.059 --> 00:18:08.759 If anyone is in Christ, 00:18:09.439 --> 00:18:10.699 they are a new creation. 00:18:11.659 --> 00:18:13.519 The old things have passed away. 00:18:14.399 --> 00:18:16.039 Behold, the new things have come. 00:18:16.639 --> 00:18:18.319 And all these things are from God 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:22.220 who reconciled us to himself through Christ. 00:18:23.899 --> 00:18:25.200 So dear Lord, 00:18:25.939 --> 00:18:28.700 thank you that we are new creations. 00:18:29.659 --> 00:18:31.240 In your son Christ Jesus, 00:18:31.919 --> 00:18:35.299 thank you that you create in us a clean heart 00:18:35.299 --> 00:18:38.919 and that you renew a steadfast spirit within us. 00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:43.980 Thank you that we can all start over again with you, 00:18:44.580 --> 00:18:45.480 completely new, 00:18:46.300 --> 00:18:48.100 reconciled, forgiven and justified. 00:18:49.380 --> 00:18:51.519 And help us to stay on your path, 00:18:52.220 --> 00:18:53.620 to know each day and every day 00:18:53.620 --> 00:18:55.840 that we are new creations. 00:18:56.860 --> 00:18:58.900 Through grace in Jesus Christ, 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:00.440 in Jesus' name. 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:01.660 Amen.